Soft diet

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It has been suggested that this article should be Pureed diet. (discuss ) (September 2022)

A mechanical soft diet or edentulous diet, or soft food(s) diet, is a diet that involves only foods that are physically soft, with the goal of reducing or eliminating the need to

A mechanical soft diet can include many or most foods if they are mashed, puréed, chopped very small, combined with sauce or gravy, or softened in liquid.

In some situations, there are additional restrictions. For example, patients who need to avoid

A puréed diet is commonly used for people who have difficulty swallowing and provides a uniformly smooth consistency.^[1]

Soft diets, particularly purée foods, can contribute to the high prevalence of malnutrition in those with dysphagia, especially in long-term care residents.^[2] Such diets are often less palatable, and a reduction in food intake is common. Also, puréed diets are often poorer in calories, protein, and micronutrients than regular diets.^[3]

Most of the foods on this diet can be both puréed and thinned with liquids to be incorporated into a full-liquid diet.

Examples

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Desserts

• Cake softened with milk or ice cream
• Cheesecake
• Cream pies
• Custard
• Fruit
  smoothies
  with crushed ice, milk, soy milk, or yogurt
• Gelatin desserts such as Jell-O
• Milkshakes and health shakes
• Mousse
• Soft pies, such as Key lime pie, pumpkin pie, and sweet potato pie
• Pudding
• Smooth frozen desserts such as frozen yogurt, ice cream, Italian ice, popsicles, and sherbet
• whipped topping

Fruits and vegetables

• Applesauce
• Avocados
• Bananas
  , mashed if needed
• Creamed corn
• Creamed peas
• Creamed spinach
• Custard apples
• Fruit juices
• Watermelon
• Peeled peaches or pears, very ripe or canned
• Soup with soft-cooked vegetables
• Vegetable juices such as carrot juice or tomato juice
• Vegetables cooked soft, mashed, or puréed

Grains/starches

• Baked potatoes, skinless, mashed with sour cream or cream cheese
• Cornflakes, Rice Krispies
  ), softened in milk
• Cooked hot cereals such as
  Cream of Rice, Cream of Wheat, Farina, grits, Maypo, oatmeal, porridge, Weetabix, or Wheatena
• Couscous
• Lasagne
  with extra sauce
• Macaroni & cheese
  , cooked soft
• Mashed potatoes
  and gravy
• Mashed
  sweet potatoes
• Muffins, pancakes, or waffles, softened with butter or syrup
• Pasta cooked soft
• Polenta
• Potato salad, mashed
• Quinoa
• Rice cooked soft, with sauce or gravy
• Rice gruel or congee
• Risotto

Protein

• Baked beans
• Canned chicken or canned tuna
• Chicken salad or tuna salad
• Chili
• Eggs, scrambled
• Eggs, beaten and steamed
• Cottage cheese
• Enchilada pie
• Fish cooked soft
• Meat in
  stews
• cottage pie ("Shepherd's pie"), hamburgers, meatballs, meatloaf
• Nut butter such as almond butter, cashew butter, Nutella, and peanut butter
• Refried beans with melted cheese, guacamole, salsa, or sour cream
• Ricotta
• Sloppy joe
• Tofu
• Yogurt

See also

• Liquid diet

References